Summertime
by Antharyn
Summary: AU. Who would have thought the greatest love of all would come from the tiniest of hearts? Literally? 3x4, 1x2 yaoi.
1. Prologue

Title: Summertime

Author: Antha Aryn

Pairing: 3x4 later, 1x2.

Summary: Who would have thought the greatest love of all would come from the tiniest of hearts? Literally? This is a Thumbelina kind of thing, if you didn't get that.

Warnings: Yaoi, Shounen-ai, M/M, AU

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its hot, sexy characters. I just borrowed them and made them do my nasty bidding. D

**Prologue**

It all started with cheese.

One day, a hungry Duo Maxwell opened his cupboard and noticed that a small piece of cheese had decreased significantly in size.

"Funny." He said to himself. "I could have sworn there was a bit more than that." But being the young happy-go-lucky man that he was, he shrugged to nobody and gave it no second thought. After all, cheese does shrink every now and then, right?

The following days, however, he became aware of the slight changes in his little cottage on top of a hill. Bits of food would go missing, quills were found out of their respective ink bottles, and his favorite hair band vanished into thin air.

Needless to say, Duo found this quite peculiar. Yes, he was a bit messy, what 19 year old boy wasn't? But surely he would not misplace his beloved hair band seeing as he only had that single one and needed it to tie his 2-foot long braid of chestnut hair.

After studying the tiny scratch marks on cheeses and bread and the little spots of ink trailing on his desk, he came to the conclusion that he was no longer alone in his little cottage atop a hill.

"Must be a mouse or something." He said.

Finally, after losing all of the new hair bands he had just bought and enduring his unbraided hair for an entire week, he had had enough.

And so he devised a plan…

One afternoon, he left his house and set off to Heero's, grinning foolishly to himself the whole way.

Hours later, he came back, feeling deliciously sore from their lovemaking and went to check his little trap.

The trap had taken him a total of two minutes to set up. Locking all the cupboards and pantries, he made sure that the only edible item was a small bit of the creature's favorite cheese (he assumed it was its favorite since it was the one that seemed to be being consumed the fastest). He tied a string around the cheese and placed it under a large overturned bowl held up on one side by a small stick which was where the other end of the string was tied. So when whatever the creature was would slip in under the bowl and tug at the cheese, the stick would be pulled and the bowl would descend and capture it.

He praised his brilliance as he smiled smugly at the overturned bowl that was no longer held up by a stick but was lying with its brim completely on the surface instead.

"Gotcha." He smiled, amethyst eyes twinkling in triumph.

Grasping the top of the bowl firmly and holding out open palm to catch the creature as it fell, he slowly began to slide the bowl towards the edge of the counter. Little by little, the bowl left the surface of the counter yet nothing came upon his expectant palm.

Half of the bowl was in the air now and still nothing. He was beginning to think the wind had somehow blown the stick and triggered the trap when finally he felt something small, soft and warm land in his hand.

The bowl came crashing down to the floor in his excitement as he scrambled to catch the creature in both hands.

"All right." He said as he felt whatever it was squirming in his grasp. "Let's take a look at you, shall we?"

Slowly he let his finger unfurl.

There was a quiet moment of still surprise and then…

"Oh wow." He gasped, his eyes widening. His shock slowly gave way to elation as he gazed at the little thing in his hands.

Tiny aquamarine eyes stared fearfully at him as a naked Mini sat huddled and scared. The human's enthusiasm got the better of him and the creature squeaked and hung on Duo's fingers for dear life as the braided youth began jumping up and down, laughing in delight.

For Duo was delighted to know that he now shared his home with one of the rarest creatures this world has ever known. He had his own Mini: a race of tiny little humans that usually lived in burrows in between the roots of large trees.

He abruptly halted his celebration and set the Mini down on a table where it swayed woozily before steadying itself and gazing at him curiously. The braided boy began to study it.

The Mini was male, standing about 4 inches tall with a slim build. His complexion was pale which matched perfectly with the tuft of golden hair on his little head and his eyes, even as small as they were, Duo could tell they were a brilliant shade of turquoise.

Meanwhile, the Mini studied the human as well. Since birth, he had hardly seen a human and even when he ran away from his family and started inhabiting the area, he had only seen the braided one a few times. He made sure the human never saw him, though; he was told that terrible things happened to his kind if they were caught.

But this human didn't seem to be a threat. On the contrary, he intrigued the Mini with his bright smiles and the sounds he was currently making. It took a while for the creature to realize the human was speaking.

"Wow." Duo whistled, making sure his voice was softer than usual. He didn't want to render the creature deaf after all. "You woulda made a lot of heads turn if you were human."

The Mini tilted his head to one side at his words in an adorable expression of puzzlement. Duo was glad; it was better than the frightened stare he had been regarded with earlier.

"You don't understand me, do you?" He asked. The Mini merely blinked at him.

"I'm Duo." He stated, offering his pointer finger to the Mini. The little blonde yelped and jumped backwards away from the finger, his fear returning all of a sudden.

"No, no, no, I won't hurt you." He said gently. He saw the Mini's shoulders relax slightly at the gentleness of his voice and he slowly reached out to touch it, careful not to scare the tiny creature. He stopped, however, when the Mini made a distressed sound and jumped backwards again.

Duo sighed in frustration and looked at the Mini. It looked like it wanted to bolt and he knew that he shouldn't push his luck or it really would. He didn't want the little thing to go away.

Then a bright idea hit him. He begged the Mini to stay put even though he knew it couldn't understand him and he rushed to the pantry.

Meanwhile, the Mini's heart raced. It was the perfect opportunity to escape and yet he wanted to stay and try to understand the human. He knew he shouldn't have withdrawn from him but he couldn't help it. The human seemed nice enough; if the human had wanted to hurt him, he wouldn't be standing here right now. But still he couldn't stop his natural instinct and be afraid.

If he moved now, it was likely he could flee without being caught. But where to? Back to the loneliness his nest in the roots of the vines climbing the side of the cottage?

No. He was tired of being alone.

But this human was not like him. They couldn't even understand each other. Could that be worse than living in solitude?

Before he could come to a decision, however, Duo returned, grinning and holding a small piece of what he thought was the Mini's favorite cheese in his hand.

The blonde perked up when it smelled the cheese. He hadn't had a bite to eat other than the treacherous cheese when he was trapped under the bowl. He gulped and looked at the human.

The boyish face didn't show any threat or malice so he felt it safe to approach slowly, still wary enough to flee if he had to.

"Come on." Duo whispered as the blonde drew nearer. "I won't hurt you."

Finally, the Mini stepped into his open palm and took the cheese. Duo could see it stiffen as though expecting him to take advantage of its vulnerability and then slowly relax again when nothing happened.

Quite sure that it wasn't about to be hurt, the Mini sat down and began nibbling at the cheese.

When the cheese was consumed, Duo again offered his pointer finger to the creature and this time the blonde didn't try to get away.

"Du-o" He repeated slowly. The little blonde looked at the presented appendage and looked at him. He repeated his name again and was delighted to see the dawn of comprehension on the little cherubic face.

_So the human is called "Duo.", _the Mini thought. It repeated the name as it clasped the human's finger with both hands.

The human smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back and introduce himself as well.

It took several tries since his voice was so soft and Duo could barely hear him but in the end, he finally managed to get the human to hear his name.

"Quatre".

Now as the seasons passed, the Mini grew to be more beautiful and Duo couldn't help but be proud. Never mind that they couldn't teach him how to speak and the only things he could say were their name, Quatre was playful, sweet, charming and capable of brightening even the gloomiest days. He was quite the smart one, too; he actually learned to sow his own clothes by watching the human do so.

Even Heero, his Japanese lover who had recently moved in with them, had become quite attached to the little one. His normally taciturn lover would scoop up little Quatre in his palm and feed him bits of fruit and bread, laughing when the Mini would playfully bite his fingers. Funny, seeing as when Duo first introduced Quatre to Heero, his lover wouldn't so much as give the Mini a second glance and the blonde, in turn, was frightened of Heero's dark blue eyes and angry expression. Now the little one had the Japanese boy wrapped around his dainty little finger.

Sometimes, the braided youth would tease his lover, saying that he loved Quatre more than him. This would prompt Heero to place Quatre carefully inside the drawer they had designed to be a living quarters for the blonde and take Duo to bed, reminding him that he was indeed still loved.

More and more weeks passed, however, and while Heero and Duo were like family to him, Quatre felt a deep ache in his heart. Often, he would be seen sitting by the window and staring out into the horizon. It was then that Heero and Duo decided to allow Quatre to go out into the gardens as he pleased. They put a wire fence around a small patch in their garden to prevent snakes and other nasty things from entering and a thin net was placed overhead to keep away the birds.

At first the Mini was delighted to be able to run free among the grass and flowers again but all too soon, his happiness subsided and he again felt that deep ache in his heart that, though he could forget sometimes, would always come back at night when he was alone in his little bed.

As Heero and Duo watched the little blonde toss and turn restlessly in his covers, they realized what it was that Quatre needed to be happy again. But it was something neither of them them could not provide.

-o-

a/n: TBC Thank you for your time! I hope you enjoyed it! More to come soon! I hope.


	2. Chapter 1

Title: Summertime

Author: Antha Aryn

Pairing: 1x2, 3x4

Summary: Who would have thought the greatest love of all would come from the tiniest of hearts? Literally? This is a Thumbelina kind of thing, if you didn't get that.

Warnings: Yaoi, Shounen-ai, M/M, AU

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its hot, sexy characters. I just borrowed them and made them do my nasty bidding. It's fun. You should try it. D

**a/n** My thanks to Shme who helped me out with this chapter and to 'Maiya for doing the same and also encouraging me to get up off my ass and actually start writing again. ** 3**

**Chapter 1**

Winter melted into spring and before they knew it, it was summertime. But it was no ordinary summer for Heero and Duo. Not only was it the first time they'd spend it with a Mini, it was also unbearably…

"Hot!" Duo spat and sent the empty pail sailing across the room. "We'll end up boiling ourselves if we take a bath now." He growled in frustration and flopped back down next to Heero on the bed.

His Japanese lover sighed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Did you put the lid on the barrel like I told you to?"

The braided boy stiffened slightly before mumbling something into the pillow that sounded suspiciously like "oops".

"Duo…" The Japanese boy said in warning.

"I'm going, I'm going", Duo groaned as he forced himself out of bed.

_Damn, this blasted heat_, he thought. It was never this hot back in the city. Maybe he shouldn't have moved to the country after all. He immediately banished the thought from his head. Moving into the country must've been the best thing that happened to him. Sure, the city was great with its bustling and busy streets but at some point, though he wasn't exactly sure when, things became all too constricting and he suddenly felt like he was suffocating.

Besides, if he hadn't moved to his little cottage atop a hill, he would have never met Heero or Quatre. And for all the thrills and excitement the city had to offer, it couldn't beat living with his lover and his tiny friend.

Feeling a little better, he made his way to the side of the house where their rain barrel was and sure enough, there it was; out in the sun with its lid lying on the ground. He sighed and pulled the barrel into the shade of their roof and closed the lid for good measure.

_It should cool down in an hour. _He thought when he felt a slight tug on his shoe laces. He looked down and spotted Quatre at his feet. Frowning, he bent down to pick the Mini up.

"What are you doing out here?", he asked. It didn't escape his notice that Quatre was wandering outside the small patch of garden they had fenced off for his safety.

The little blonde didn't answer him so he marched back into the house, taking Quatre along with him. All the while, the mini squirmed in his grasp, indicating that he wanted to get down.

The braided human finally set him down on the table and glared at him. Quatre gulped. Heero's death glares, he was used to by now, but though most people believed his were enough to make a grown man cry, Duo's were much worse.

"What's going on?" Heero asked from where he lay on the bed.

"I found him wandering around the outside the fence. He was pulling at my shoelace."

"What?" the dark-haired youth got up from the bed and stood in front of the Mini. "Why?"

"Exactly!" Duo said. "What _were_ you doing out there, huh?"

They both saw Quatre flinch at the volume of their voices. Duo glanced quickly at Heero but it was too late. The cobalt blue eyes had already taken a sympathetic look and he was sure the same one could be found in his own eyes.

"Sorry, little guy." Duo said softly, stretching his hand out to the blonde. The Mini stepped into his palm and hugged his thumb in apology. "We're just looking out for you, is all. We don't want you to get hurt. Right, Heero?" He looked at his stern-faced lover.

"Hn", was the cold response but his indifference was belied when he took Quatre into his own hand and carried him back to the bed. "He wouldn't have tried to get your attention if he was sneaking around." He rationalized. He quietly examined the Mini. The little blonde was sweating too profusely for it to be caused just by the heat and his breathing was heavy. "It looks like he was running. Do you think he was being chased by something?" He asked Duo.

The braided youth gasped and quickly went out the door. He returned a few minutes later, shaking his head. "No sign of a cat or anything that could have chased him."

Duo plunked himself on the bed beside Heero and looked at the Mini who had now regained its breath and was looking at them like a scolded puppy.

"Well, he looks okay." Heero said. "Whatever he did, he must not have meant to go past the fence".

"Yeah, well, don't do it again, all right?" He said, gently stroking Quatre's cheek with his index finger. The little blonde nodded and leaned into the touch. They heard him sigh heavily.

"He's tired." Heero pointed out. "Maybe a bath will help." He gave the Mini to Duo and went inside their storeroom. Moments later, he came back carrying a small pail of water.

Duo's jaw dropped. "You had water all along and you didn't tell me! I've been roasting all day!"

"It's your fault for leaving the barrel out in the heat. Again." Heero scolded, taking Quatre back from Duo and carrying both the Mini and the pail to the sink. Making sure Quatre had everything he needed to bathe; he left and allowed the Mini his privacy.

The sight of Heero taking such good care of Quatre gave Duo a funny feeling inside, one that he could not quite place. It made him forget his irritation at being denied water that would not burn his skin off. Instead, it gave him a sort of…sad…feeling.

"What are you staring at?" Heero asked.

Duo started, surprised that he had been staring. "N-nothing. It's just that…it's nothing…" He trailed off and looked at Heero.

Heero looked unwaveringly back at him and he caved. "It's just that…you probably would have made a great dad."

Cobalt blue eyes softened and he moved towards the bed and kissed Duo's lips. "So would you." He said softly as he pulled his lover down on the bed so he lay spooned up behind him. "So would you."

-o-

From where he stood peering over the rim of the pail, Quatre could clearly see Heero and Duo lying on the bed, wrapped in each other's arms. He felt a wave of sadness sweep through him and he sat back down, letting the water cool him off.

Heero was right. He didn't mean to go past the fence and get into trouble. Today was exceptionally hot; the heat inside the house had reached the point where it was beginning to make him dizzy. He figured he could cool off by taking a stroll out in the garden as he always did. It was indeed much cooler under the shade of the leaves and flowers and he sat with his back against the stem of one of the larger plants. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

In his sleep, he had an unusual dream. Someone was there with him, touching his face, stroking his hair. The dream brought with it a feeling of contentment and happiness; a welcome change from the loneliness he always felt. He felt lips whispering in his ear, in a deep, smooth voice, soft and calming words he could understand and at the same time could not.

He had sighed contentedly and shifted in his sleep, yearning to get more contact.

And then he had woken up to the sound of running footsteps and plants being pushed aside as something fast made its way past them. Slightly disoriented from the dream, Quatre pulled himself together and gave chase.

He didn't know how long he had run; he only knew he should catch up with whatever it was that was ahead of him. Leaves slapped his face but he paid no attention to the stinging pain as he ran. Eventually, however, he began to feel the burn in his lungs and the strain of his muscles and he knew he could go no further. Ahead of him, the sound of footsteps and rustling leaves grew distant and finally silence reigned again.

It was then that he realized that he must have gotten past the fence at some point since he found himself near the wall of the cottage on the other side of the garden. Duo and Heero would get mad and he knew he had to go back but his legs wouldn't cooperate. He slowly let himself sink to the ground to catch his breath.

That was when he saw Duo come out from the cottage and drag the barrel into the shade. He tiredly made his way to his friend and pulled at the first thing his hands could find; the human's shoe laces.

Inside the cottage, Quatre knew he couldn't tell them why had gone past the safety of the fence. He didn't know himself. Now that he was thinking rationally, without the last dregs of the dream in his mind, he wasn't even sure if he heard what he thought he had. Could he have imagined it all?

In any case, telling Heero and Duo would only worry them and he definitely didn't want that. Especially if he wasn't sure about what really happened out there.

Thankfully, the humans had not pressed the issue and now here he was, sitting chest-deep in cool water, and cleaning a cut on the side of his neck that neither of the humans noticed.

He sighed sadly and let his head rest against the pail. For a brief moment, he had felt that someone was with him and it had made him happy for he knew the person in his dream was not a human but a mini; someone like him. Now, however, that feeling was ripped from him, leaving him worse off than he was before it came.

He heard Heero's voice whispering soft words of love to Duo's ears even as far away as he was from the couple. Another stronger wave of sadness swept through him and, softly, he began to cry.

Just outside the window, a tall, slim form hung on to the vines and observed the blonde. Somber green eyes watched the tiny form tremble uncontrollably and his heart broke with each sob that reached his tiny ears.

-o-

"Come on, Quatre." Duo coaxed softly. "Please?"

The Mini made a small noise but made no move to take the offered food.

The human sighed and placed the piece of fruit down. "Heero, could you come here for a sec?"

Heero looked up at his two companions from where he was sat fixing a lose floorboard. "What?" He stood up and groaned when he felt the blood rush to his legs. He sat down next to Duo in the kitchen table and looked at the small form curled up in his lover's palm.

It had been days since they found the little blonde outside in the garden and for reasons unknown to the humans, Quatre seemed to be in some sort of depression. He barely smiled anymore. He had also lost some weight and his skin didn't have the usual healthy glow it was supposed to.

It had the two humans worrying for their little friend.

"He looks sick". Heero said.

The braided youth nodded. "I haven't seen him eat more than a few bites lately and I know he isn't sleeping very well either." Duo recalled the one night earlier this week when he woke up in the middle of the night and found Quatre wandering around the top of the desk.

"Has he been to the garden since?"

"No, I don't think so." Duo sighed and stroked the Mini's back. "He's hardly left his room and—"

He was interrupted by a loud _whoosh_ as a large falcon came swooping in. He felt a moment of panic and he cried out, clutching Quatre tightly to his chest.

"Relax, Duo." Heero said. "It's just Nataku." He gestured to the majestic bird resting on the back of a chair.

Nataku belonged to their friend, Wufei, who lived in the town. He served as a sort of messenger between them and the rest of their friends and knew Quatre well enough not to attack the Mini.

As Heero retrieved the small piece of parchment tied to the falcon's leg, Duo eased his grip on Quatre. The Mini was alert, looking around, not knowing what was going on. Then he spotted Nataku and visibly relaxed. For the first time that day, Quatre looked at Duo and smiled the smallest of relieved smiles. The human had to grin for at least the blonde wore a smile again albeit it was a small one.

_What's wrong, little guy? _He asked silently, worry beginning to creep back into his amethyst eyes. _What's got you so down?_

"Duo." Heero's voice penetrated his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I said Noin's finally given birth. It's a boy."

Duo set Quatre down and whooped for joy. "A boy? That's awesome! Zechs must be so proud!"

"They want us to go to town."

That cut the braided boy's celebration short. "Now?"

Heero knew what made his lover hesitant to go and he glanced at the Mini who watched the scene with a mildly curious expression. "Everybody's already there waiting for us".

"But what about Quatre?"

The blonde looked up at the sound of his name.

The braided boy's face fell. "We can't bring him down there. What if people see him and try to catch him to sell him? Or what if we lose him?"

"It's not the first time we've left him here alone."

"Yeah, but he's—"

Heero silenced his lover with a quick kiss on the lips. "He'll be fine. We should leave now if we want to get back before sundown".

Duo sighed at the slight tingly feeling on his lips and he picked Quatre up from the table and set him down on top of the desk of his drawer room. "Sorry, little guy. Social obligation." He said as he began getting ready for the rip to town. "I know this is all so sudden but we really got to get going. We'll be back in a few hours, okay?"

Quatre nodded in understanding. Duo ruffled his hair with a finger and helped Heero pack some food and drinks to bring for the others.

Heero then walked over and placed some food on top of the desk in case Quatre got hungry and with a final hasty goodbye, both humans were gone.

The house was silent again and Quatre sighed. He slowly made his way to his little bed where he lay down and wished he would fall asleep and never wake up. This was the perfect opportunity for his guilt to eat at him and eat at him it did. First of all, he knew it was wrong to act the way he did when Duo and Heero were only trying to help. The two humans had given him so much and here he was, making them worry about him.

But he couldn't help it. Every morning when he woke up alone in his bed or when he would fall asleep to the sounds of Duo and Heero making love they assumed the drawer's walls were thick enough to keep him from hearing them. Silly humans. he would always feel a cold wave of loneliness strong enough to drive him to tears when the humans weren't looking.

Even now as he lay in bed, with his blanket held up to his chin, he could feel tears welling in his eyes.

_Stop it!_ He told himself. This was bordering on ungrateful. He was fortunate enough to share a home with his two friends who cared for him and all he could do was mope because he was lonely? He had more than any other Mini could possibly have and here he was complaining about what little he lacked.

It wasn't fair to Heero and Duo.

It wasn't fair to him.

Sighing softly, he tossed his blanket to the side and got up. It was too hot to sleep anyway. Exiting his drawer room, he wandered around the house aimlessly, using the small catwalk-like bridges Heero had set up along the walls so he could get around without any trouble. After circling the house for half an hour with nothing but his melancholy thoughts for company, the heat began to get to him and he decided it was as good as any time to take a bath.

He went to prepare his bath and minutes later he was chest-deep in water, supporting himself by crossing his arms on the edge of the sink. The cool water was a welcome relief and he sighed happily as he laid his golden head on his arms to rest, unaware of the single visible green eye that charted his every move.

Once again, another Mini observed the blonde from outside. This one was tall for a mini, well-built and had dark brown hair that fell over the side of his face, obscuring one emerald green eye. He had come to inhabit the area almost three weeks ago and had kept an eye on the activities in the house ever since.

He had especially kept a close watch on the beautiful one he learned was called "Quatre". Much closer than the blonde knew.

During the day, he would follow him around in the garden. He would watch from outside the window, how he interacted with the humans; the happiness of his smiles and laughter only to be belied by the tear streaks on those rosy cheeks he would sometimes find when he watched him sleep at night. It didn't take long for him to be attracted to the beautiful mini, for the urge to hold and be with the blonde to set in.

But he resolved himself to just watch for who knows what would happen should the other find out he existed?

However, one sunny day, when he had followed the blonde and watched him fall asleep amongst the flowers, his emotions at seeing the sweet, cherubic face muddled his thought. He had over-stepped a boundary and actually touched him. And he had almost been caught.

That was when things had changed. There were barely anymore smiles and laughter. Sobs could be heard more often in the night. He wondered if he was the cause of all this and it pained him to know he had somehow destroyed the blonde's seemingly perfect life.

Now, as he slowly made his way across the smooth wood of the kitchen counter, he wondered if he was making a big mistake. Deep, down inside, he knew he should show himself to the blonde and that, somehow, it would make Quatre feel better again. But he was still hesitant seeing as he had no idea as to how the other might react. The last time, he had been chased by the other Mini. No, he had run away from him. What a mistake that was.

He was only inches from Quatre now and he could see the way little droplets of water clung to the blonde's hair and shoulders. The sight of such ethereal beauty made him forget to think about whether this was a mistake or not and he steeled himself. Finally reaching his destination, he knelt down and softly whispered the name that haunted his dreams at night into the dozing blonde's ear.

"Quatre".

-o-

Heero sighed in relief as he stepped back into their cottage some hours later. It had been a long day, mostly spent trying to stop his lover from throttling Relena whenever she made a pass at him. He groaned when Duo followed quickly behind him, still talking a mile a minute. He _needed_ to rest.

"—his eyes were so blue, Heero!" the braided youth was saying. "And he has Zech's hair—"

Tuning Duo out, Heero pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off the coming migraine. Oh, how he detested trips to town. It was when he went to the sink to wash his hands that he noticed something was wrong. The kitchen sink was plugged and full of water but their little friend was nowhere to be found.

"Duo." He interrupted his lover.

Duo stopped at the seriousness of his voice and looked at Heero.

"Quatre's gone."

-o-

**a/n** Whew! wipes sweat from forehead You will not believe how hard it was for me to get this out. I practically had to milk myself for all my worth but sadly, this is still not as good as I had hoped it would be.

Oh, well! I hope you liked it anyway! Thanks again to my darling Shme and my beloved 'Maiya for all your help!


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